The Season of Giving
by Blistry
Summary: A light tale about our favorite Gamma ray specialist finding somebody (other than Tony) that he has something in common with. She is a brilliant scientist and he delights in teasing her. As Christmas quickly approaches, they will find something to be thankful for in one another. Bruce B./OC


**Greetings! So it has been a very long time since I wrote anything. I present to you a short little fluffy tale about Bruce Banner and an OC I dreamed up. Maybe Pepperony? Wait and see! This is my first Avengers fanfic so be kind! Figuring out how to write Bruce Banner is a work in progress for me. I know Bruce isn't the most popular, but I think he's just the cutest. Now, I present to you The Season of Giving. **

She liked to watch him work most nights, thinking how lovely his hands were. Yes indeed, they were quite beautiful as he deftly moved them about his work space in the lab. His grace was a stark contrast to the monster he was constantly keeping at bay within. She pondered on what strength it must take to keep control, she found him to be all the more captivating for it. She could watch him do anything and still find it fascinating as his long, tapered fingers carefully handled microscopes or typed complex algorithms into his computer. It didn't matter to her what he did, so long as she could sneak glances at him. She was very careful to always stare at him through the curtain of her thick ash brown hair as she worked beside him, so as not to be caught in her secret little act of admiration. She had (much to her disappointment) started noticing as of late that he would shiver every so often, throwing him off of his work and ruining her usual entertainment of watching him.

"I wish Stark would crank up the heat," Dr. Banner idly drawled. "It's not like he can't afford it." He mumbled as he ran his hands up and down the length of his toned arms in an attempt to warm up. Winter was upon them, and from the large window on their tenth floor laboratory, there was a breathtaking view of New York City all dressed up in a thick layer of snow covering any scars left from Loki's destructive attack. The citizens below were abuzz with Christmas only days away. Following the recent and tragic events earlier in the year, the city seemed to sigh in relief as the season of giving fell upon it. The people could finally smile about something. And everyone who normally populated the lab had gone home to be with family, Tony Stark had even swept his beloved Miss Potts away to Aruba to enjoy some sunshine. As Elaine had none, she remained happy to work.

"Not much in the mood for a chat, I take it?" Dr. Banner commented dryly.

She almost jumped as he spoke. He glanced at her briefly from behind his glasses and she realized she hadn't yet responded. She quickly regained her composure. "W- uh- well some of the equipment the interns have been working on here is very sensitive to heat. We, sadly, must endure the chill until Mr. Stark sees fit to move it." Her toned was edged in sarcasm. She turned to Dr. Banner and crossed her arms, "besides, haven't I said that you should wear a coat in here? You would be less distracted by the chill." She teased as she adjusted her own tartan scarf to better cover her neck. The red and green of her beloved scarf was quite a shock against her all business white button down and fitted blazer complete with a modest, yet alluring pencil skirt. She liked to dress professionally, however, the situation of temperature had given her no choice but to don the colorful neck wear.

He made a noise of dismissal, "No thanks, I'd rather not chance catching my sleeve on something caustic, especially given my history with unfortunate lab accidents." he wryly replied. She didn't know if she was allowed to laugh. He allowed himself a bitter chuckle as he focused on the subject under his microscope. He lifted his head and promptly began recording his findings onto the legal pad to his right. As he was hunched over his paper he turned his head to catch her eyes. "See Dr. Sawyer?" And he slightly wiggled his right arm, and true to what he had said, his shirt sleeves were rolled up and cuffed to his upper forearm. "Safety first." he smirked up at her.

She released a sweet sounding laugh but quickly became embarrassed and turned back to her work. They settled comfortably into a calm quiet.

Lately, Elaine had fallen into a nice quiet routine with Bruce Banner. She would turn up in the morning to find him laboring diligently in the lab and she would sit next to him and quietly begin work on whatever she had been tasked with for the day. They would sit in silence, mostly. Every once in awhile they would start a bit of idle chat. Neither of them were big talkers, so silence suited them both perfectly. Recently, however, their routine had changed. When the lab became empty for the holiday season, Elaine had dared to ask Dr. Banner if he would join her for dinner. He seemed hesitant to accept her invitation at first but she insisted that she knew where to find the best Thai food in town; it was very hard for him to say no at that point. Neither of them ate much as they worked throughout the day, so by nightfall they were both famished. So every night at ten-thirty in the evening she would turn to him and ask him where he might wish to order take out from. Of course, they would take turns paying for dinner. With the amount that Mr. Stark was paying them neither of them worried about the expense.

Dinner time was fast approaching and Dr. Sawyer found herself swarmed by butterflies in her stomach. She was becoming very, very fond of dinner with Dr. Banner. Dare she say, she was becoming very fond of the man himself. First, she admired his talent and genius, strictly as a colleague, of course. But his dry wit and quiet demeanor pulled her in. She soon couldn't stop noticing everything about him. Despite the danger lurking just below his calm facade, she was still bewitched by him. Though she had seen him reprimand an intern once or twice, he had never raised his voice or become cross with her. He always spoke softly to her. He was gentle; he was perfect.

She was lifted from her thoughts as she heard Dr. Banner step back from his work area and run a hand through his dark, unruly curls. She peaked under her lashes to see him remove his glasses and massage the bridge of his nose. She took advantage of his distracted state to quickly take a sweeping glance at his body. She felt a blush creep up her neck and inwardly chastised herself for staring so rudely. She really couldn't help it though. He was so tall and lean. And his rolled up sleeves revealed his forearms which she couldn't enough of. With dainty fingers, she unconsciously lifted her tartan scarf over her nose, hoping to hide the scarlet tinge in her cheeks. She thought of Bruce in a jacket and, to her, it seemed a shame to cover up anything about him. She made a mental note not to suggest it again.

"You seem distracted today." He commented. Again, he had caught her off guard. She was daydreaming too much today and it was starting to embarrass her. She turned her head to the side and locked her brown eyes with his.

"Sorry-" she looked down. "I'm just deep in thought, I guess." She fussed with a few strands of hairs in her face, she had heard you should always play with your hair when chatting up an attractive man, but she thought she looked rather like she was trying to swat flies out of her face.

"Maybe it's time for a break then. How about pizza today?" He proceeded, cracking a crooked smile. "I'll buy." she smiled up at him from her stool. He had asked _her_ to join _him_ for dinner. Her excitement bubbled within her.

"Pizza sounds perfect." Elaine chirped. She was in the mood, she decided, for Hawaiian pizza today. It would go perfectly with how jovial she was feeling.

They sat over their pizza in the employee lounge. Half was Hawaiian and half was pepperoni. They ate quietly, as they usually do, one or the other occasionally commenting on the food. Elaine found it amusing that Dr. Banner always ate pizza with a knife and fork. She took in her familiar surroundings as they sat. The lounge was decked out with comfortable chairs, a modern kitchen with all the trappings, and a very expensive television set. Elaine and Bruce chose to make use of the music system installed when they had finished eating. Now that no one was around they could play what they liked and never hear one complaint. Today, Bruce had decided to play Schumann from the large selection of mp3's built into the system. The soothing sound of Träumerei quietly played over the speakers.

"I love Schumann. This song, especially." She said quietly. He nodded in agreement and shared a smile with her. She appraised his smile with care. It never seemed to reach his eyes, in fact he looked sadder than ever when he smiled. He looked away, almost as if he sensed her looking straight into his broken heart. Elaine wished she could say sorry, though she knew not what for. There was silence again, save for the music. She closed her eyes and let the duet of violin and piano sing while she worried over Bruce, not realizing that the man had also closed his eyes in silent contemplation. Sawyer realized a few songs had passed and she had been daydreaming again. She sat up in her chair and looked across to see Bruce had nodded off to sleep. She blinked a couple times, unsure if what she was seeing was real. His head had fallen back onto the chair and his chest moved up and down, slow and steady. She had to wake him, that much was clear. What would he ever think of her if she just left him there? She knew he didn't sleep much, his insomnia must have finally caught up with him.

She stepped quietly closer to him. She saw that his lips were parted ever so slightly. She wondered in that moment what his kiss tasted like and then immediately hissed at herself for even thinking such a thing. He stirred a little at her outburst but did not wake. She knew that she should not startle him awake. The consequences could be deadly to her. If he woke violently, she may end up face to face with the Other Guy. Taking this into consideration, she softly lowered her hand and onto his hand, which lay upon the chair armrest. It was warm and soft beneath her touch. Though she was quivering with something akin to fear she still felt warmth bloom inside her as she finally touched those long pretty fingers that she loved. Did she dare trace her fingers up to caress his forearm? Alas, she was to afraid of what may happen if she startled him. She sorely wanted to but she had to focus on the task at hand. She whispered his name as softly and sweetly as possible.

"Dr. Banner?" she tried. He did not stir. "Dr. Banner?" she attempted again, only slightly louder. Nothing. "Bruce? She asked, cherishing the foreign feeling of his first name on her tongue. She felt his fingers twitch beneath hers and he sucked in a breath. She froze.

He slowly stirred awake. His eyes found hers. To him, Dr. Sawyer must have looked like a deer in the headlights. He released a surprised grunt when he glanced down to see Elaine's hand over his. She noticed him noticing her and she drew her hand back quickly and mumbled a small apology.

"Ah- my late nights must be catching up with me, I apologize." Dr. Banner said pointing out the obvious. He removed his glasses to pinch the bridge of his nose. Elaine moved to turn off the music in an attempt to stop herself fro thinking about how much she wished she didn't have to let go of Bruce's hand.

"Schumann can have that effect." She said with her back turned to him and she fiddled with the stereo. In almost a mothering tone she turned to him, "You know, you should really try to get more rest, Bruce." She lectured. And before she had realized what she had done it was too late. She called him by his first name. She was rigid as she waited for his reaction. She mistakenly crossed a line. She knew Bruce was all business (quite a lot like her) and probably found her to be very unprofessional at this moment. _What's gotten into me? _She thought.

He heard his first name, yet again, roll off of her tongue. She said it with such a lovely quality, he couldn't deny that he'd love to hear her say his name again. "You sound just like Stark; maybe you should grow some elaborate facial hair to complete the look." He quipped. An unattractive snort escaped her but despite it, she was relieved. He wasn't uncomfortable, in fact, he almost sounded pleased. He gave her an appraising look from his seat

"Well," she faced him and looked up into his eyes. "I had better head off to bed." Dr. Sawyer stuttered. He gave a slight affirming nod. Banner stretched his arms behind his head.

"Despite my-" he paused to consider his words, "...siesta, I still feel pretty tired" He intoned as he grabbed the back of his neck with one hand. "Those chairs are not as comfortable as one might think..." He trailed off. It seemed neither of them really knew what to say.

"Until tomorrow!" Sawyer blurted out, having finally thought of a reply.

"Yeah," he paused, thinking. "have a good night- uh, Elaine." he offered, sounding playfully sardonic; teasing her for becoming so flustered when she referred to him by his first name.

"Good night, Bruce." She whispered nervously. She practically jogged to her room- her assigned lodging in Stark Tower. She shut the door behind her swiftly. Why had she made such a big deal out of his name in the first place? What was she? Some schoolyard child who had accidentally called her teacher mom? She had a hard enough time talking to other people as it was, why did he have to make it harder? To her applied biochemistry and advanced nanotechnology were a breeze, but flirting? Hopeless.

She liked to watch him work most nights, thinking how lovely his hands were. Yes indeed, they were quite beautiful as he deftly moved them about his work space in the lab. His grace was a stark contrast to the monster he was constantly keeping at bay within. She pondered on what strength it must take to keep control, she found him to be all the more captivating for it. She could watch him do anything and still find it fascinating as his long, tapered fingers carefully handled microscopes or typed complex algorithms into his computer. It didn't matter to her what he did, so long as she could sneak glances at him. She was very careful to always stare at him through the curtain of her thick ash brown hair as she worked beside him, so as not to be caught in her secret little act of admiration. She had (much to her disappointment) started noticing as of late that he would shiver every so often, throwing him off of his work and ruining her usual entertainment of watching him.

"I wish Stark would crank up the heat," Dr. Banner idly drawled. "It's not like he can't afford it." He mumbled as he ran his hands up and down the length of his toned arms in an attempt to warm up. Winter was upon them, and from the large window on their tenth floor laboratory, there was a breathtaking view of New York City all dressed up in a thick layer of snow covering any scars left from Loki's destructive attack. The citizens below were abuzz with Christmas only days away. Following the recent and tragic events earlier in the year, the city seemed to sigh in relief as the season of giving fell upon it. The people could finally smile about something. And everyone who normally populated the lab had gone home to be with family, Tony Stark had even swept his beloved Miss Potts away to Aruba to enjoy some sunshine. As Elaine had none, she remained happy to work.

"Not much in the mood for a chat, I take it?" Dr. Banner commented dryly.

She almost jumped as he spoke. He glanced at her briefly from behind his glasses and she realized she hadn't yet responded. She quickly regained her composure. "W- uh- well some of the equipment the interns have been working on here is very sensitive to heat. We, sadly, must endure the chill until Mr. Stark sees fit to move it." Her toned was edged in sarcasm. She turned to Dr. Banner and crossed her arms, "besides, haven't I said that you should wear a coat in here? You would be less distracted by the chill." She teased as she adjusted her own tartan scarf to better cover her neck. The red and green of her beloved scarf was quite a shock against her all business white button down and fitted blazer complete with a modest, yet alluring pencil skirt. She liked to dress professionally, however, the situation of temperature had given her no choice but to don the colorful neck wear.

He made a noise of dismissal, "No thanks, I'd rather not chance catching my sleeve on something caustic, especially given my history with unfortunate lab accidents." he wryly replied. She didn't know if she was allowed to laugh. He allowed himself a bitter chuckle as he focused on the subject under his microscope. He lifted his head and promptly began recording his findings onto the legal pad to his right. As he was hunched over his paper he turned his head to catch her eyes. "See Dr. Sawyer?" And he slightly wiggled his right arm, and true to what he had said, his shirt sleeves were rolled up and cuffed to his upper forearm. "Safety first." he smirked up at her.

She released a sweet sounding laugh but quickly became embarrassed and turned back to her work. They settled comfortably into a calm quiet.

Lately, Elaine had fallen into a nice quiet routine with Bruce Banner. She would turn up in the morning to find him laboring diligently in the lab and she would sit next to him and quietly begin work on whatever she had been tasked with for the day. They would sit in silence, mostly. Every once in awhile they would start a bit of idle chat. Neither of them were big talkers, so silence suited them both perfectly. Recently, however, their routine had changed. When the lab became empty for the holiday season, Elaine had dared to ask Dr. Banner if he would join her for dinner. He seemed hesitant to accept her invitation at first but she insisted that she knew where to find the best Thai food in town; it was very hard for him to say no at that point. Neither of them ate much as they worked throughout the day, so by nightfall they were both famished. So every night at ten-thirty in the evening she would turn to him and ask him where he might wish to order take out from. Of course, they would take turns paying for dinner. With the amount that Mr. Stark was paying them neither of them worried about the expense.

Dinner time was fast approaching and Dr. Sawyer found herself swarmed by butterflies in her stomach. She was becoming very, very fond of dinner with Dr. Banner. Dare she say, she was becoming very fond of the man himself. First, she admired his talent and genius, strictly as a colleague, of course. But his dry wit and quiet demeanor pulled her in. She soon couldn't stop noticing everything about him. Despite the danger lurking just below his calm facade, she was still bewitched by him. Though she had seen him reprimand an intern once or twice, he had never raised his voice or become cross with her. He always spoke softly to her. He was gentle; he was perfect.

She was lifted from her thoughts as she heard Dr. Banner step back from his work area and run a hand through his dark, unruly curls. She peaked under her lashes to see him remove his glasses and massage the bridge of his nose. She took advantage of his distracted state to quickly take a sweeping glance at his body. She felt a blush creep up her neck and inwardly chastised herself for staring so rudely. She really couldn't help it though. He was so tall and lean. And his rolled up sleeves revealed his forearms which she couldn't enough of. With dainty fingers, she unconsciously lifted her tartan scarf over her nose, hoping to hide the scarlet tinge in her cheeks. She thought of Bruce in a jacket and, to her, it seemed a shame to cover up anything about him. She made a mental note not to suggest it again.

"You seem distracted today." He commented. Again, he had caught her off guard. She was daydreaming too much today and it was starting to embarrass her. She turned her head to the side and locked her brown eyes with his.

"Sorry-" she looked down. "I'm just deep in thought, I guess." She fussed with a few strands of hairs in her face, she had heard you should always play with your hair when chatting up an attractive man, but she thought she looked rather like she was trying to swat flies out of her face.

"Maybe it's time for a break then. How about pizza today?" He proceeded, cracking a crooked smile. "I'll buy." she smiled up at him from her stool. He had asked _her_ to join _him_ for dinner. Her excitement bubbled within her.

"Pizza sounds perfect." Elaine chirped. She was in the mood, she decided, for Hawaiian pizza today. It would go perfectly with how jovial she was feeling.

They sat over their pizza in the employee lounge. Half was Hawaiian and half was pepperoni. They ate quietly, as they usually do, one or the other occasionally commenting on the food. Elaine found it amusing that Dr. Banner always ate pizza with a knife and fork. She took in her familiar surroundings as they sat. The lounge was decked out with comfortable chairs, a modern kitchen with all the trappings, and a very expensive television set. Elaine and Bruce chose to make use of the music system installed when they had finished eating. Now that no one was around they could play what they liked and never hear one complaint. Today, Bruce had decided to play Schumann from the large selection of mp3's built into the system. The soothing sound of Träumerei quietly played over the speakers.

"I love Schumann. This song, especially." She said quietly. He nodded in agreement and shared a smile with her. She appraised his smile with care. It never seemed to reach his eyes, in fact he looked sadder than ever when he smiled. He looked away, almost as if he sensed her looking straight into his broken heart. Elaine wished she could say sorry, though she knew not what for. There was silence again, save for the music. She closed her eyes and let the duet of violin and piano sing while she worried over Bruce, not realizing that the man had also closed his eyes in silent contemplation. Sawyer realized a few songs had passed and she had been daydreaming again. She sat up in her chair and looked across to see Bruce had nodded off to sleep. She blinked a couple times, unsure if what she was seeing was real. His head had fallen back onto the chair and his chest moved up and down, slow and steady. She had to wake him, that much was clear. What would he ever think of her if she just left him there? She knew he didn't sleep much, his insomnia must have finally caught up with him. She stepped quietly closer to him. She saw that his lips were parted ever so slightly. She wondered in that moment what his kiss tasted like and then immediately hissed at herself for even thinking such a thing. He stirred a little at her outburst but did not wake. She knew that she should not startle him awake. The consequences could be deadly to her. If he woke violently, she may end up face to face with the Other Guy. Taking this into consideration, she softly lowered her hand and onto his hand, which lay upon the chair armrest. It was warm and soft beneath her touch. Though she was quivering with something akin to fear she still felt warmth bloom inside her as she finally touched those long pretty fingers that she loved. Did she dare trace her fingers up to caress his forearm? Alas, she was to afraid of what may happen if she startled him. She sorely wanted to but she had to focus on the task at hand. She whispered his name as softly and sweetly as possible.

"Dr. Banner?" she tried. He did not stir. "Dr. Banner?" she attempted again, only slightly louder. Nothing. "Bruce? She asked, cherishing the foreign feeling of his first name on her tongue. She felt his fingers twitch beneath hers and he sucked in a breath. She froze.

He slowly stirred awake. His eyes found hers. To him, Dr. Sawyer must have looked like a deer in the headlights. He released a surprised grunt when he glanced down to see Elaine's hand over his. She noticed him noticing her and she drew her hand back quickly and mumbled a small apology.

"Ah- my late nights must be catching up with me, I apologize." Dr. Banner said pointing out the obvious. He removed his glasses to pinch the bridge of his nose. Elaine moved to turn off the music in an attempt to stop herself fro thinking about how much she wished she didn't have to let go of Bruce's hand.

"Schumann can have that effect." She said with her back turned to him and she fiddled with the stereo. In almost a mothering tone she turned to him, "You know, you should really try to get more rest, Bruce." She lectured. And before she had realized what she had done it was too late. She called him by his first name. She was rigid as she waited for his reaction. She mistakenly crossed a line. She knew Bruce was all business (quite a lot like her) and probably found her to be very unprofessional at this moment. _What's gotten into me? _She thought.

He heard his first name, yet again, roll off of her tongue. She said it with such a lovely quality, he couldn't deny that he'd love to hear her say his name again. "You sound just like Stark; maybe you should grow some elaborate facial hair to complete the look." He quipped. An unattractive snort escaped her but despite it, she was relieved. He wasn't uncomfortable, in fact, he almost sounded pleased. He gave her an appraising look from his seat

"Well," she faced him and looked up into his eyes. "I had better head off to bed." Dr. Sawyer stuttered. He gave a slight affirming nod. Banner stretched his arms behind his head.

"Despite my-" he paused to consider his words, "...siesta, I still feel pretty tired" He intoned as he grabbed the back of his neck with one hand. "Those chairs are not as comfortable as one might think..." He trailed off. It seemed neither of them really knew what to say.

"Until tomorrow!" Sawyer blurted out, having finally thought of a reply.

"Yeah," he paused, thinking. "have a good night- uh, Elaine." he offered, sounding playfully sardonic; teasing her for becoming so flustered when she referred to him by his first name.

"Good night, Bruce." She whispered nervously. She practically jogged to her room- her assigned lodging in Stark Tower. She shut the door behind her swiftly. Why had she made such a big deal out of his name in the first place? What was she? Some schoolyard child who had accidentally called her teacher mom? She had a hard enough time talking to other people as it was, why did he have to make it harder? To her applied biochemistry and advanced nanotechnology were a breeze, but flirting? Hopeless.

**Well, she's a shy one but I think we shall see her come out of her shell in the coming chapters! I confess this story is getting away from me in terms of where I thought it would go; I love it!**


End file.
